christmas traditions.

the brewster's love tradition. its in our blood. every christmas, up until i got married, was the same. we did the same things, ate the same food...everything was the same. but i loved it. after getting married, christmas got even better because i had two families to celebrate with. there's an amazing comfort in tradition...knowing that things will be like you're used to them being. christmas traditions remind me of my childhood and all the memories i have of the past.

so, speaking of brewster traditions, here are a few that i'll always remember.

1. mom and aunt shopping the night before thanksgiving. they've gone christmas shopping on this night every year, for as long as i can remember. i often went out to eat with dad. the night before thanksgiving will never be the same, since that was the night that dad passed, so not sure if that tradition will continue...but i know they loved it.

2. peanut butter balls. grammy always made peanut butter balls. dad was obsessed with them. i think they were his favorite food at christmastime. for some reason, he always had a tradition of not eating one until christmas eve. they'd be sitting in the fridge for a week but he had a tradition so he had to stick to it. so funny.

3. christmas lights. every december 23rd megan and i went to grammy and grampy's. first, we ate dinner. then we got bundled up in our pajama's and blankets and piled in the car. grampy drove us all around bangor and brewer to look at the christmas lights. when we were little, we'd giggle and whisper in the back seat and hope that they'd make a stop at dairy queen to get us blizzards. it pretty much always happened. we listened to christmas music and sang together. it was the best. things changed when we no longer trusted their driving...but we still went. the only difference was the chauffeur...and i think the dairy queen part fizzled eventually.

4. church. christmas eve would not be christmas eve without going to church at night. i don't think a christmas has gone by without this tradition. i love it. its so cozy and fun.

5. christmas pajamas. every christmas eve megan and i get pajamas. sometimes we match, sometimes we don't. sometimes mom and dad get them...and sometimes the boys. i don't think we will ever allow mom to let go of this ritual.

6. the polar express and the little golden book. mom reads to us christmas eve night. ok, i know we are like 27 and 30...but i think it will still happen this year. it can't not happen after all these years! i remember hating the polar express...dad and i would make fun of it. but i still love the tradition. and i don't know the name of the little golden book...but its about animals and jesus and christmas. pure goodness.

7. wrapping gifts late at night. dad was always a procrastinator when it came to christmas shopping. he'd go out at the very last minute and shop for mom. and he never failed to force megan and i to do his wrapping christmas eve night.

8. croissants and fruit. our christmas breakfast. dad was obsessed with this. i remember one year mom wasn't able to find the same croissants we have always had, and he was mad. and forget even considering not having the fruit. he would not allow it. every winter my parents always have an endless supply of grapefruit and oranges cut up in the fridge. it was a necessity.

9. kenny g. opening gifts at the brewster home always took a while. not necessarily because there were so many gifts, but because we took our time. we'd watch every person open a gift and then we'd pass it around to those who wanted a closer look. we even took a snack break after like an hour. and we alllllways had kenny g playing. dad wouldn't let us start opening until kenny g was present. i think that tradition will always stick around.

some traditions will change or go away. some have changed already. but some will stay forever. and i love the fact that i have these to remember as i think about my childhood. brian and i look forward to starting our own keezer family traditions. i'm so thankful to my parents for making christmas so magical for megan and i. this year will be different, considering our family has changed significantly, but we definitely plan to make the best of our circumstance. and we remain thankful for what we do have, including memories and traditions that will stay with us forever.